This article describes two methods for controlling the surface of a liquid in an open container as it is being carried by a robot arm. Both methods make use of the fundamental mode of oscillation and damping of the liquid in the container as predicted from a boundary element model of the fluid. The first method uses an infinite impulse response filter to alter the acceleration profile so that t...

The topic of coupled oscillations is rich in physical content which is both interesting and complex. The study of the time evolution of coupled oscillator systems involves a mathematical formalization beyond the level of the upper secondary school student’s competence. Here, we present an original approach, suitable even for secondary students, to investigate a coupled pendulum system through a...

We propose a model for local dynamics of a perturbed convex real-analytic Liouville-integrable Hamiltonian system near a resonance of multiplicity 1 + m, m ≥ 0. Physically, the model represents a toroidal pendulum, coupled with a Liouville-integrable system of n non-linear rotators via a small analytic potential. The global bifurcation problem is setup for the n-dimensional isotropic manifold, ...

A torsion pendulum allows ground-based investigation of the purity of free-fall for the LISA test masses inside their capacitive position sensor. This paper presents recent improvements in our torsion pendulum facility that have both increased the pendulum sensitivity and allowed detailed characterization of several important sources of acceleration noise for the LISA test masses. We discuss he...

In this paper we develop an intelligent controller on the basis of Genetic Algorithms for the stabilization of a class of Underactuated Mechanical Systems. First we develop a static State Feedback Controller with inner noncollocated partial feedback linearization loop to stabilize the nominal system. Second, we develop a Genetic algorithm controller to maintain system stabilization and to adapt...

Body segment inertial properties (mass, center of mass position, and moment of inertia)affect the joint kinetics and subsequent limb control during ambulation. Accurate segmentinertial property estimations are necessary for properly calculating kinetic parameters andappropriately interpreting these data. Limited information currently exists related to inertialproperties of v...

It is well-known that a suitably designed unpowered mechanical biped robot can "walk" down an inclined plane with a steady gait. The characteristics of the gait (e.g., velocity, time period, step length) depend on the geometry and the inertial properties of the robot and the slope of the plane. The energy required to maintain the steady motion comes from the conversion of the biped's gravitatio...

In the present manuscript, an investigation on synchronization, anti -synchronization and hybridsynchronization behavior of a double pendulum under the effect of external forces using active control technique based on the Lyapunov stability theory and the Routh-Hurwitz criteria, have been made. The designed controller with a new choice of co-efficient matrix of the error-dynamics are found to b...

In the context of simple mechanical systems with symmetry, we give a method based on blowing up the amended potential for obtaining symmetry-breaking branches of relative equilibria bifurcating from a given set of symmetric relative equi-libria. The general method is illustrated with two concrete mechanical examples, the double spherical pendulum and the symmetric coupled rigid bodies.